A/N: AKA the first chapter I wrote for this story. At the beginning I didn't know if I wanted to explore the weekend (the previous seven chapters) but decided very quickly that it needed to be written before the Monday could be.

I do not own Total Drama, all rights reserved to the respective owners.

"Had a good weekend?" Bridgette asked smiling, leaning against the locker next to mine. It was Monday, seven minutes to eleven and my biology class ended three minutes ago; with the studying I managed to get in this weekend I felt really good about the test next week. It was lunchtime now and that meant I was going to have to face him again.

"Huh?" I wasn't even listening, which was odd, I always paid attention when someone talked to me. These past few days had basically turned me into another person. Who knew some company and skin could be so comforting and unwinding?

"Well you're so relaxed, figured you've had a nice weekend. Did the yoga I showed you last week work?" she blurted out with so much pride in the thought of helping the school's most stressed out student. I furrowed my brows and shook my head slightly, as to think.

"Uh, yeah. I did that whole breathing thing and..." that's as far as I got before the chatter started from my blonde friend again. I took the last book from my locker and closed it before turning to start walking towards the backside of school grounds. Bridgette was half a step behind me, hands in the pockets of her hoodie, still rambling on about the technique of mastering yoga. As we got to the grass covered part of school grounds Bridgette bolted away from my side and up to her half-dressed boyfriend.

"Hi baby", Geoff slurred out and rubbed his templates, but still smiling at the sight of his partner.

He was certainly hungover; his parents had been gone for the weekend and as the party guy himself had stated 'dudes and I are just gonna get a keg and chillax', which in Geoff-language meant mega party. Bridgette had mixed feelings at her boyfriend's partying lifestyle. She had gone over to his house on Sunday morning to help him clean up, but they ended up sharing the remaining beer, which did not at all help Geoff's already weakened state. She had begged me to go with and 'put down the homework for once', I was lucky to get out of it. If you think those two are all over each other normally, you don't want to be around the couple when they're both drunk. I'd made that mistakes one too many times for my liking.

"Here you go, honey." Bridgette gave her boyfriend the water-bottle from her backpack and kissed his cheek as he gladly chugged half of its content. By this point I had already made my way over to the pair and managed to sit down next to them, leaning against the tree conveniently behind me. The courtyard had its fair share of trees you could lean on and even some bigger rocks that worked as sitting places. But this tree was my favorite; during lunch hours the sun hit the spot perfectly but the branches hung low enough as to not get blinded by the strong light, it was close to the edge of school grounds, but far away from the parking lot. Everything about it was absolutely perfect.

"Hot stuff", Duncan greeted me and lit his cigarette. I hadn't even noticed him until he spoke, I'd been bathing in the sun and relaxing instead, soaking up all the vitamin D I could manage before another lecture indoors. Yeah, the spot was perfect, except that he also found it perfect, and I was trying my hardest to avoid him right now, not wanting to bring up our last meeting in my kitchen.

"Dude! That's your second one already", Geoff exclaimed and waved away the smoke floating in the air towards him. It was only about fifteen minutes into lunch time, but knowing the two they may have been sitting here for hours. Bridgette laid down on her back, head in Geoff's lap and proceeded the statement where he had stopped.

"Cigarettes cause so much trouble in your body. If you're going to smoke, at least blow it away from us", she pleaded and shot him an innocent smile. Duncan shrugged and took another drag, this time aiming the smoke away from the other three. The thing I found interesting about Geoff was his uttermost hate toward nicotine, yet he kept up his partying lifestyle with all the substances it involved.

"Man, he's late", Geoff mumbled and looked around the courtyard. He looked a bit sweaty, nervous, as his eyes darted around and his head following. Bridgette leaned upwards and whispered something in his ear making his entire face scrunch up. I closed my eyes and shifted my head to face the sun, hearing but not wanting to see the couple's soon to be argument. This was a routine for them; Geoff making bad decisions with his dealer on or near school grounds, Bridgette quietly scolding him for not thinking properly and so on.

"So..." I heard Duncan's say, also trying to block out the bickering couple, feeling his body shifting beside me I opened my eyes and was met by his teal ones looking straight on me. They were the perfect shade of blue and green mixed together, like clear water from a romantic movie or a dark summer sky without clouds. He took a long last drag from his cigarette before flicking it away without putting it out. No matter how much I was supposed to resent his habits of slow self destruction, I couldn't blame him; after all I had inhaled some smoke of my own.

"So?" I raised my eyebrows and faced away from him, spotting DJ as he walked towards us from the parking lot. Even from the distance between us I could see the relief on his face. He looked content and, well, relieved. The parking lot was in the other corner of the schoolyard, he still had a good dozens of meters to walk before reaching the perfect tree. Unfortunately, giving Duncan more than enough time to push my buttons as always.

"This weekend was fun", he said with a smirk, stroking his index finger across my knee. I swatted his hand away, like it was a fly about to sit on my food. "Oh, feisty", he teased and wiggled his eyebrows. He stretched out his legs and leaned backwards, letting his arms hold him up.

"Touch me like that again out in the open and I'll slap you", I whispered angrily. Geoff and Bridgette had stopped talking and I knew the female of the two was more likely than not to listen in on our conversation, if you could even call it that.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Duncan wiggled his eyebrows again. His voice was full of seductive undertones and still raspy from the cigarette. Before I could stop myself the mere thought of him whispering, breathing, in my ear sent shivers down my neck.

"Guys, he's okay!" DJ exclaimed loudly as he also sat down in our special little circle of messed up friendships. The guys exchanged high fives and Geoff even squeezed out a celebratory woo. Apparently DJ's cat was too eager when cleaning her fur, her stomach was full of hairballs and the poor feline hadn't been able to eat for days. But according to the brick house with a heart, a quick visit to the vet can fix anything.

Geoff started a long story about the party Duncan had missed and I decided to tune out and get some reading time in. I only just managed to find the correct page I was on and get out an apple from my bag, before DJ gasped loudly and caught all of our attentions.

"Duncan, what did you do to your neck?" The big guy had a hand covering his mouth as he spoke in shock, thinking the purple marks were bruises.

"Huh?" Duncan raised an eyebrow and turned his attention from Geoff to his bigger friend. "Oh", he chuckled and rubbed his neck with a hand, casting a quick glance in my direction. I folded the book shut but kept my thumb on the page I was to read later. I took a big bite of the apple, silently daring him to speak a word about our weekend, and hoping he wouldn't.

"Man, are those hickeys dude?" Geoff laughed with approval and offered another high five to the delinquent next to me, which he gladly reciprocated with a smirk on his face.

"Ugh", I rolled my eyes and made a disgusted noise I knew Duncan would hear.

"Well, you know", the green haired boy answered with a shrug, but the smirk on his lips was still intact. I had been smart, obviously, and wore a polo-necked t-shirt, but Duncan was still dressed in the same two shirts he had on Friday.

"Who's the chick?" Geoff asked and scooted closer to Duncan, making Bridgette sit up from her makeshift pillow.

"A gentleman don't kiss and tell", he answered with a satisfied look on his face and rested back on his elbows again.

"Doesn't", I muttered and flipped open my book again.

"What'd you say, babe?" Duncan looked up at me and his eyes glistened with deviance. Something in me told me he hadn't wanted the hickeys to go unnoticed, that he deliberately didn't cover them up just for the bragging rights of having gotten laid.

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell", I clarified and glared at him.

"Okay", Bridgette laughed nervously and grabbed her boyfriend's arm gently, tugging him back to her side. Geoff obeyed her silent demand willingly and she wrapped her arms around one of his, resting her head on his shoulder.

The rest of the lunch period went by rather quickly and uneventful. It mostly consisted of the guys talking about plans for the week; after school hangouts and thoughts on another party this weekend. I was barely listening as I had started reading the book for English class as soon as Bridgette saved me from starting a fight in the middle of the schoolyard and Duncan gave in to the other conversations going around the group. As usual I was the first one to stand up, ready for the next class, and as usual Duncan took my perfect place under the tree as soon as my ass left the ground.

"Aren't you going to class?" I asked him annoyed, rolling my eyes as I gathered my books. He looked up at me and smirked, his hands behind his head.

"Nah", he simply stated before closing his eyes and shuffling his body down the trunk of the tree, almost laying down in the grass by this point.

"Ignore him", Bridgette took a hold of my arm and motioned for me to follow her into the building. Deciding that whatever Duncan had planned couldn't be as bad as throwing rocks at my window until I let him stay the night, I left with her.

As students poured out of the classroom after the lessons ended, I spotted the protruding green of Duncan's hair as he stood leaning against the wall opposite the door, one knee bent with his foot against the poorly painted concrete.

"Dude", Geoff exclaimed at the sight of his friend and the two bumped knuckles.

"Hey Duncan", Bridgette politely smiled and waved her hand in a small motion.

"DJ's on his way", Duncan explained and unbent his knee. Mondays' were days all four of us got out early, two classes before lunch and one after. The guys' had decided during lunch to go out and eat after they all were done in school.

"What you feeling for, hon?" Geoff asked his girlfriend and threw an arm around her shoulder.

"Oh, I don't know", she smiled sweetly before looking back at me, "are you joining? Won't be any fun without you."

"I have to-" was all I managed to say before Duncan cut me off, probably knowing I would blame some made up homework for my absence.

"No you don't. Come, princess", he said and I felt small shivers run up my spine at the mentioning of the word, memories of our encounters this weekend rushed through my head. "I want you to come", he said once more for emphasize, probably thinking the same that I was.

"Please, Court? You can study after", Bridgette pleaded and pouted her lips.

"Fine", I sighed and shook my head in defeat.

"Alright, dudette", Geoff offered a high-five which I reluctantly accepted. "Now, Duncan, dude", he continued and turned to the punk, "you have to tell us all about this mystery chick." Duncan's lips grew into a mischievous grin.

"Oh I will", he nodded slowly and squinted his eyes at me.